Pile stop mechanism



Feb. 28, 1950 G. G. ERLAND ET AL PILE STOP MECHANISM Filed June 7, 19482 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. GU'STAVE s. ERLAND, a Y AXEL B. PEARSONATTORNEY Feb. 28, 1950 G. G. ERLAND ET AL 2,498,989

PILE STOP MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 7, 1948 INVENTOR.GUSTAVE G. ERLAND a AXEL B. PEARSON i mandfix ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 28,1950 PILE STOP MECHANISM Gustave G. Erland and Axel B. Pearson,Pittsburgh; Pa., assignors to Carnegie-Illinois Steel Corporation, acorporation of New Jersey Application June 7, 1948, Serial No. 31,496

7 Claims. (Cl. 271-86) 1 This invention relates to stop devices usedwith sheet piling apparatus for aligning vertical edges of sheets asthey are piled.

An object of the invention is to provide improved and simplified stopdevices embodying a stop bar which is readily projected for aligningsheets during piling or retracted for removing finished piles of sheets.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved stop deviceswhich have a retractable stop bar for aligning sheets and which arebodily movable to accommodate sheets of difierent lengths and in whichactuation of a single mechanism projects or retracts the stop bar andsimultaneously locks the device in a fixed position or releases it formovement.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved stop deviceshaving the foregoing features in which the operating mechanism is ofsimple and rugged design and dependable in its operation.

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, we haveprovided improved details of structure, a preferred form of which isshown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of an improved stop device embodyingfeatures of the present invention, the housing being broken away toillustrate the operating mechanism;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on line II--IIof Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on lineIII-III of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on lineIV-IV of Figure 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings;

The stop device of the present invention is illustrated in conjunctionwith a sheet piler which stacks sheets S from above on rails ID. Thepiler is not shown, since it may be of any known design and per se isnot partof the present invention. A pair of spaced apart roller tablesl2 and It Support rails In so ,that they may be shoved easily forremoving heavy stacks of sheets.

The stop device, designated H, is situated between and beneath the tworoller tables and may conveniently be in a pit l5 beneath floor level,as illustrated. The stop device is carried one track, which in theinstallation illustrated includes I-beams l6 and I1 and rails l8 and I9mounted on said I-beams. The I-beams are supported from columns 20 and2| that mount the inner sides of the roller tables.

opposite sides of which carry pairs of rollers 23 and 24. Said rollersride on rails l8 and I9 and thus support the device for adjustmentlongitudinally with respect to the roller tables. Eyelets 25 and 26 arefixed to the front and back walls of thehousing and are adapted toreceive cables or other tow means for moving the stop device along therails.

A vertically movable stop bar 217 is supported in guides 28 and 29 inthe forward portion of housing 22. The stop bar may be retracted Sdeposited on rails iii abut the stop and thus The stop device comprisesa. housing 22, the II are piled with these edges vertically aligned.Preferably the region of the stop bar engaged by the sheets iscushioned, as indicated at 30, to ease the shock of such engagement. Asshown in Figure 4, the cushioning comprises a metal stop plate 30a, arubber cushion 30b and an attaching key 30c, which enables the cushionto be replaced conveniently when worn. When the stop bar is projected,it also furnishes a means for gauging the height of the stack. Thedevice has locking means, hereinafter fully described, for automaticallyfixing the position of the device whenever the stop bar is projected andreleasing the device for free movement whenever the top bar isretracted.

The operating mechanism for projecting and retracting the stop bar andengaging or releasing the locking means comprises a double actingpneumatic cylinder 3| which contains a reicprocable piston. The cylinderis fixed in a bracket 32, which is pivotally supported on the housingwalls at 33. The cylinder has the usual hose connections for admittingair and may be actuated by any suitable valve mechanism, not shown. Atoggle 34 is pivoted to the housing walls adjacent the rear at 35, tothe piston rod at 36 and to the stop bar at 31. 'The toggle is slottedwhere it is pivoted to the stop bar to permit the latter to move in astraight line while the former moves through an arc. Whenever the pistonis forced upwardly, toggle 34 projects the stop bar, and whenever thepiston is forced downwardly, the toggle retracts the stop bar.

The locking means previously referred to includes a yoke which hasupstanding arms 38 and 39 and a base bar 40 (Figure 2). Ifhe upper endsof arms 38 and 39 are. apertured and the inner walls of the housing haveopposed slotted brackets 42 and 43 (Figure 3). Pins 44 and 45 passthrough the apertures in the yoke arms and through the slots in brackets42 and 43 and thus support the yoke for vertical movement. Theextremities of base bar 40 extend beneath I-beams l6 and I1 and carryshoes 46 and 41 which are engageable with the bottom flanges of theI-beams to efiect part of the locking action.

An actuating rod 48 depends from toggle 34 between pivot points 35 and36 and has a slotted connection therewith. Bifurcated levers 49 and 50are pivotally attached to the lower end of actuating rod 48 on a pivotpin Said levers receive arms 38 and 39 of the yoke within thebifurcations and are apertured for passage of pins 44 and 45, (Figure3). The outer ends of levers 49 and 50 are engageable with tops of railsl8 and 19 (Figure 2) to effect the remainder of the locking action. Thusthe locking means engages opposed faces of the track to effect apositive locking action.

When the piston in cylinder 4| is forced upwardly to project the stopbar, actuating rod- 48 alsois lifted. Lifting said rod pivots levers 49and 50 about pins 44 and 45 and thus their outer ends are moved downinto engagement with the tops of rails l8 and IS. The pivotalconnections are sufiiciently loose that the levers can pivot while therod is moved in a straight line. At the same time the levers lift theyoke and carry shoes 46 and 41 up into engagement with the undersides ofthe I-beams. These locking movements occur simultaneously withprojection of the stop bar. The reverse of these movements takes placewhen the piston is forced downwardly.

In operation, the device is adjusted along rails l0 until the stop baris situated beneath the line along Which it is desired to align theforward edge of a pile of sheets. The pneumatic cylinder is actuated toproject the stop bar and simultaneously lock the device in position.Sheets are then piled on rails I0, and they abut cushion 30 on the stopbar as they are piled. Normally sheets are piled until the pile reachesa height equal to the distance the stop bar projects above the rails,the stop bar thus furnishing a convenient means for gauging pile height.The pneumatic cylinder then is actuated to retract the stop bar andrelease the locking means from the rails. The sheets then may be shovedalong the roller table for removal. At the same time, the device isreleased for adjusting to a difierent position if desired.

From the foregoing description it is seen we have provided a stop devicehaving improved and simplified mechanism for projecting or retractingthe stop bar and simultaneously fixing the position of the stop-deviceor releasin it for movement along the track.

While we have shown and described only a single embodiment of theinvention, it is apparent that modifications may arise. Therefore,

- we do not wish to be limited to the disclosure set forth but only bythe scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on said housing forsupporting the housing on a track, locking means extending from saidhousing and being adapted to engage the track for fixing the position ofthe housing, a stop bar movably carried in said housing, a togglepivoted in said housing and operatively connected with said lockingmeans and said stop bar, and pneumatic means in said housing forpivotally moving said toggle, movement of said toggle projecting orretracting said stop bar and simultaneously engaging or releasing saidlocking means.

2. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on said housing forsupporting the housing on a track, locking means extending from saidhousing and being adapted to engage the track for fixing the position ofthe housing, a stop bar carried in said housing and being movablevertically, a toggle pivoted to said housin and to said stop bar, meansoperatively connecting said toggle with said locking means, andpneumatic means in said housing for pivotally moving said toggle,movement of said toggle projecting or retracting said stop bar andsimultaneously engaging or releasing said locking means.

3. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on said housing forsupporting the housing on a track, locking means extending from saidhousing and being adapted to engage opposed faces of the track to effecta positive locking action for fixing the position of the housing, a stopbar carried in said housing and being movable vertically, a togglepivoted to said housing and having a slotted pivotal connection withsaid stop bar, actuating means operatively connecting said toggle withsaid locking means, and pneumatic means in said housing for pivotallymoving said toggle, movement of said toggle projecting or retractingsaid stop bar and simultaneously engaging or releasing said lockingmeans.

4. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on said housing forsupporting the housing on a track, a vertically movable member carriedby the housing and being adapted to engage the underside of the track, alever pivoted to said vertically movable member and to said housing andbeing adapted to engage the top of the track, a stop bar carried by saidhousing and being movable vertically, a toggle pivoted to said housingand having a slotted pivotal connection with said stop bar, an actuatingmember connecting said toggle and said lever, and pneumatic means insaid housing for pivotally moving said toggle, movement of said toggleprojecting or retracting said stop bar and simultaneously moving saidvertically movable member and said lever for engaging them with thetrack or releasing them therefrom.

5. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on opposite sides of saidhousing for supporting the housing on a track, a vertically movablemember carried by the housing and being adapted to engage theunder-sides of the track, levers pivoted to said vertically movablemember and to opposite sides of said housing and being adapted to engagethe top of the track, a stop bar carried by said housing and beingmovable vertically, a toggle pivoted to said housing and having aslotted pivotal connection with said stop bar, an actuating memberconnecting said toggle and said levers, and pneumatic means in saidhousing for pivotally moving said toggle, movement of said toggleprojecting or retracting said stop bar and simultaneously moving saidvertically movable member and said levers for engaging them with thetrack or for releasing them therefrom.

6. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on opposite sides of saidhousing for supporting the housing on a track, a vertically movable yokehaving a base bar and upstanding arms, means on said base bar adapted toengage the underside of the track, a pair of levers extending fromopposite sides of said housing and having slotted pivotal connectionswith said housing and with the arms of said yoke, the outer ends of saidlevers being adapted to engage the top of thetrack, a stop bar carriedbysaid housing and being movable vertically, a toggle pivoted to saidhousing and having a slotted pivotal connection with said stop bar, anactuating bar connecting said toggle and the inner ends of said levers,and pneumatic means in said housing for pivotaily moving said toggle,movement of said toggle projecting or retraoting said stop bar andsimultaneously pivoting said levers and moving said yoke for engagingthem with the track or for releasing them therefrom.

7. A stop device comprising a housing, rollers on opposite sides of saidhousing for supporting the housing on a track, a vertically movablemember carried by the housing and being adapted to engage the undersidesof the track, levers having slotted pivotal connections with saidvertically movable member and with said housing and being adapted toengage the top of the track, guides in said housing, a stop bar carriedin said guides and being movable vertically,

levers for engaging them with the track or for releasing them therefrom.

GUSTAVE G. ERLAND. AXEL B. PEARSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,235,347 Zahutnick Mar. 18,1941- 2,315,003 Martin et a1 Mar. 30, 1943 2,456,004 Larkln Dec. 14,1948

